Tour Your Future

This participant at The STAR Center, experienced what it feels like when people develop arthritis in their hands.

Do you love science, technology, engineering, or math? Do you want to make a career out of that love, but don't know where to start? Maybe you're interested in investigating places for summer internships on your days off from school?

If you have questions about STEM careers, we have answers! Tour Your Future is a career exploration program that give girls in middle and high school an opportunity to meet female professionals who work in various organizations. The program shows girls that they can find a place in science by introducing them to diverse STEM careers, from avian zoologists and accountants to software engineers and surgeons!

This participant learned what it’s like to be a nurse practitioner at Robert Morris University’s RISE Center!

Typical tours include a guided tour of the host site's facility, a question-and-answer style session with women professionals, and a fun hands-on activity related to the work that professionals do at the host site.

To register for tours, please call 412. 237. 1637.

Tours are open to girls ages 11-17 and are $5 per girl. Both individuals and groups are welcome.

Payment for individuals is due at time of registration. If you are registering an organization or school group, payment and attendee names are due NO LATER THAN 2 weeks prior to the event. This fee is non-refundable and non-transferable.

All tours are on site at the specified locations. These are NOT at Carnegie Science Center. After registration is complete, you will receive an informational email approximately one week prior to the tour date with specific arrival and tour details.

Fall 2017 Tour Schedule

The STAR Center

Wednesday, September 13, 2017

1:00PM- 3:00PM

4900 Friendship Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15224

The STAR Center is the simulation center for the Allegheny Health Network System. The site provides education and training to all areas of the healthcare system. During the tour, you will be able to visit their simulation center and be immersed in a mock medical emergency. Participants can choose to control the simulation in the control room, or be present on the simulated hospital room floor and learn first-hand how to handle medical emergencies. Participants will learn CPR compressions, resuscitation and bleeding control techniques, and they will also use stethoscopes to hear a variety of different heart sounds.

Come visit Allegheny General Hospital where you will observe an open-heart surgery from their enclosed observation dome. During the tour, you will have the opportunity to use the endoscopic camera to harvest veins from an artificial leg. You will also get the chance to see and use surgical instruments, while learning and practicing how to tie surgical knots.

Special notes: Attendees must be at least 14 years old to attend this tour. Attendees must be able to navigate stairs to the observation dome. There is no elevator.

Duquesne Light distributes electrical power to Pittsburgh and surrounding counties. You will tour the Company Operations Center where operators monitor the entire DLC electrical system 24 hours a day, and respond to emergencies to minimize outages. You will meet the women engineers that work throughout the company to keep the power on for their customers. The tour will include an activity which will provide you with a better understanding of how electricity works. Get immersed in a real-life scenario, as you work as an engineer to power a building. You’ll learn how efficiency, time management, preserving resources, teamwork, and re-designing for improvement play an important role in engineering.

MSA is the world’s leading manufacturer of safety equipment used by workers around the world in areas including fire service, construction, mining, the military, and the oil, gas, and petrochemical industry. During this tour, you’ll experience the process of designing products and bringing them to life on the production floor. You’ll tour the engineering design labs, spend time on the manufacturing floor, and get to talk to the women engineers who design and produce these all-important pieces of safety equipment. You will visit MSA’s Fall Protection Training Center to see how protection products save lives by viewing a demo from the drop tower. You will also get hands-on experience using thermal imaging cameras, and gas detectors.

Do you like crime shows like CSI and Law and Order? Come visit Duquesne University’s Forensic Science and Law Program to learn the truth about CSI and forensic science. You’ll see how forensic science plays an important role in the criminal justice system. You will visit the Forensic Chemistry and DNA laboratories to learn about equipment and techniques used to analyze evidence. During a Q&A session with faculty and current students, you will discover what it takes to become a forensic scientist. Additionally, you will dig into some hands-on activities, like fingerprint development and comparison, so you know what it feels like to be a forensic scientist.

Petuum, Inc. is an artificial intelligence and machine learning software company. Their employees work in an open office setting, where everyone shares the same space. At Petuum, collaboration is key. You will see and hear people working together on white boards, writing code, programming, and even playing ping pong! Come tour their collaboration spaces, and work on some sample coding projects. Hear directly from their female employees to learn about their careers in artificial intelligence.

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to grow your own tropical forest? Are you interested in the most cutting-edge green energy technology in the world? Or maybe you love sharing exciting information about the natural world. There is only one place in Pittsburgh that combines these unique facets into one exciting workplace, and that is Phipps Conservatory. On a visit there, you will learn what it’s like to work in one of the twelve most energy-efficient buildings in the world, and explore their gardens while learning how they combine an appreciation of nature and beauty with the academics of science. Come and build your own Rube Goldberg model of photosynthesis, and pot a plant to take home!

Bayer is a life science company that focuses on the areas of health care and agriculture. Due to a growing and aging world population, people require an adequate food supply and improved medical care. Bayer’s research and development is focused on improving people’s quality of life by preventing, alleviating, and treating diseases. Their Indianola location is part of Bayer Radiology, which markets diagnostic imaging equipment together with the necessary contrast agents. The local site works to help accomplish these demanding challenges with the development and manufacturing of powered contrast injectors for use within medical procedures. Come and see how these contrast injectors are created and used to help improve everyone’s lives. During this tour, you will have the opportunity to set up the injectors and use the scan room to simulate injections with a mock CT scanner. You will also experiment with Arduino, and see how employees use software programming to build circuits within the injectors.

Young Women in Bio (YWIB), the University of Pittsburgh Swanson School of Engineering, and the University of Pittsburgh Innovation Institute have collaborated to bring a Tour Your Future event to the University of Pittsburgh’s Makerspace. The Makerspace is a center within the Swanson School of Engineering, dedicated to helping advance the design and creation of new technological ideas at the University. The center is filled with workspace, tools, and even a 3D printer to bring new ideas to life. Participants will first learn what it means to be an entrepreneur and innovator in science and technology and how a new idea is cultivated. They will then participate in an engaging, hands-on pretotyping and prototyping activities using the technology available in the Makerspace. University of Pittsburgh undergraduate students, graduate students, & professors from Engineering and Biology will be on hand to answer any questions participants might have about potential careers in the STEM fields!

Thermo Fisher Scientific Inc. is the world leader in serving science. Their mission is to enable their customers to make the world healthier, cleaner and safer. Thermo Fisher Scientific, Inc. helps their customers accelerate life sciences research, solve complex analytical challenges, improve patient diagnostics and increase laboratory productivity. They offer an unmatched combination of innovative technologies, purchasing convenience and comprehensive support. During the tour, come see how scientists tap into biological, chemical, and physical science areas. You will participate in an activity and learn how to handle and dispense liquid using a micropipette. You will also have the opportunity to load DNA samples into an electrophoresis gel and view the DNA. While the gel is running, you will work through real life examples of how DNA profiling is used in applications. Capacity: 15

MAYA is a design consultancy and innovation lab located in the heart of Downtown Pittsburgh. Maya helps organizations grow and thrive as digital disruption dominates how companies are run, the way products and services work, and the environments in which people live. Come tour their space which is designed to reflect the culture of collaboration and innovation! You will see examples of current projects, and witness how the work manifests. Then, you will learn what it’s like to be a researcher and designer at MAYA when you try it out for yourself! Come get the opportunity to work on a human-centered design activity where you will explore user’s needs, organize feedback and input, and prototype different concepts for testing!

Magee-Womens Research Institute is the largest independent research institute in the U.S. focused solely on women’s health research. Their research scientists are engaged in health research that spans reproductive biology and development and diverse aspects of women’s health. Come take part in various programs to learn what different female researchers are working on! Dr. Charelle Carter-Brooks will discuss the major anatomical components of the female reproductive system, and why the study of female organs is so important. You will get to partake in a hands-on exercise using 3-D printed models of the female pelvis. Also during the tour, you will attend Dr. Judy Yanowitz’s program, “Are Worms the Key to Fertility?” She will discuss why she studies worms to understand the human reproductive cycle. You’ll hear about her work, see her specimens, and get the opportunity to examine them under a microscope! Lastly, Dr. Sharon Hillier’s program “What are microbicides and how do they protect you?” will talk about the work being done to create “good” microbicides, which are biomedical products being developed to protect healthy people from becoming infected with HIV during sex. Her work spans several countries and will help millions of women and men around the world.

Special notes: If you would like more information about the topics covered in this tour, please feel free to reach out to Jane Rudov, Director of Communications at Magee-Womens Research Institute & Foundation. She will gladly answer any questions as to what your girl/s will see and experience.

Jane Rudov- (412) 641-8934

Duquesne University School of Pharmacy

Wednesday, December 6, 2017

10:00AM- 12:00PM

600 Forbes Avenue, Pittsburgh, PA 15282

Have you ever wondered what it takes to become a pharmacist? Come visit the Duquesne University School of Pharmacy where you will get the opportunity to take a tour, interact with faculty and staff, and get all your questions answered about this enthralling career field. You will have the chance to compound an ointment, observe a demonstration of Sim Man, which is a human replica that can mimic a heart rate and blood pressure, and test out your skills when you participate in a mock emergency room scenario that requires pharmacist intervention and involvement!

If you are an awesome, snazzy, and smart woman working in STEM, we would love to meet you! You're just one click away from inspiring some of our next great scientists! Please take the time to fill outthis formto host a Tour Your Future event at your place of work.

Tour Your Future Testimonials

“I love Tour Your Future because you get to do things that you wouldn’t have an opportunity to do anywhere else. Tour Your Future is unique because you are able to go behind the scenes of some really cool places.” – Ava H.

“This past spring, I attended two Tour Your Futures. Both were very informational and captivating. I came away from each of them with a smile and a whole new level of knowledge. My favorite parts of the TYFs were the Q&As with the female professionals and the hands-on activities. This fall I intend to participate in Tour Your Future again, and further my knowledge for the future.” – Emma, age 12